Summers in the KC Metro mean it's time for the KC Corporate Challenge. The KCCC is a series of athletic endeavors - some more athletic than others - in which employees of various companies around the KC area compete against each other to see who can discover and pull the greatest number of muscles they didn't remember they had.
As you can see from the first few pictures, Jean competed in a number of these events. I was only able to get pictures from the bike time trial (the first picture - she kicked butt, third fastest Deere person, men or women) and the triathlon (which technically became a duathlon when they cancelled the swim portion - you'd really rather not know why), but Jean also competed in the mile and 800-meter runs, bowling, soccer, softball, volleyball, and the 200-meter freestyle and the 50-meter breaststroke swimming events. And maybe some more; we can't remember them all. It was inconvenient, but it was all worth it. John Deere won its division, and they got a trophy and two parties featuring cake! So they had that going for them, which was nice.
While Jean was melting away the pregnancy pounds and competing in every event known to man, I was having leg problems (Bad IT band! Bad!). I was able to get some physical therapy and was pain-free for our planned triathlon in July (Thanks to Sharon at Select Physical Therapy and Day Care). Of course, being pain-free and being in shape enough to do the hilly Shawnee Mission Triathlon the way I wanted are two different things. So, long story short, I survived, but I didn't post a time with which I was very happy.
It also occurred to me at some point on the run that I'm not a good swimmer, nor am I a good bicyclist, and my running isn't all that, so I'm at a mild disadvantage in the sport of triathlon...
Anyhoo, Jean's cousin Elisabeth and her friend Holly came up from Texas to do the triathlon with us. We had a fun weekend, and Adam impressed our friends/neighbors/coworkers Casey and Kati, who were kind enough to watch him while we did our tri.
The morning was nice - cool, clear, and no wind. The lake was warm (83 degrees) and calm. What we didn't expect was that as soon as the sun came over the horizon, it was directly in our eyes for the second half of the swim. When we turned for home on the swim leg, we couldn't see a dang thing. Oh well. Such is the nature of triathlons and open water swims. You just have to deal with it and move on. Everyone else had the same problem, so there's no point in complaining too much. Just swim 'til you bonk your head on the dock, then turn left, I guess.
About to be "Blinded by the light. Revved up like a Deuce, Another runner in the night..."
And we were as ready as we were going to be. 
Overall, things went about as well as can be expected. Jean ran better than she anticipated and was pleased with her time, while Beth and Holly did well, considering they were riding mountain bikes and hadn't been able to train as much as they would have preferred. The course is very hilly, and the bike leg for the long course (the distance we chose) is challenging, so doing it on mountain bikes, not road bikes, was a serious handicap.
But we made it. Now, I'm wondering what's next. Part of me wants to run the Phoenix Rock 'n Roll Marathon in January. Another part of me wants to get ready for next year's tri season and forget about competing for a while. And still another part of me wants to focus on the bike; my recent rides with Casey have shown how much I need to work on that.
We'll see. It may depend on what Adam likes most. Will he like riding in a jogger but not a bike trailer? Vice versa? Neither? We'll have to wait and see.
